Gun safety locking rod



Feb. 13, 1968 LENTZ 3,368,297

GUN SAFETY LOCKING ROD Filed March 23, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. MORGAN E LENTZ Mar ATTORNEYS.

Feb. 13, 1968 M. E. LENTZ 3,368,297

GUN SAFETY LOCKING ROD Filed March 23, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 23 22 1 4 y m 1 A A T TORNEYS.

United States Patent 3,368,297 GUN SAFETY LOCKING RQD Morgan E. Lentz, 60 Addison Ave., Rutherford, NJ. 07070 Filed Mar. 23, 1966, Ser. No. 536,730 3 Claims. (Cl. 42-1) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE According to the present invention a safety rod is provided lockable in relation to a gun, rendering such gun inoperative and assuring that there is no bullet in the gun aligned with the barrel and/or firing chamber wherein the rod inserted within the chamber is anchored and locked at the trigger guard of the weapon.

The present invention relates to a locking gun safety device.

While various devices of the past have provided for gun safety devices including my co-pending application, Ser. No. 501,447, filed Oct. 22, 1965, now Patent No. 3,307;- 755, for a firearm safety box, none of the devices of the past have provided the simplicity, safety and protection against unauthorized use that is available in the present invention.

In the past complicated springs and locks have been devised to provide some security against the accidental or unauthorized firing of a revolver, in particular, where normal safety catches may be released, either accidentally or by design, and a loaded gun fired.

Complicated means have been provided for inactivating guns in combination with locking devices, such devices of the past have not combined the simplicity of assurance that the chamber of a gun is free of a live bullet with an efifective locking means, assuring that such gun cannot be fired as long as the device is locked into position in a gun.

According to the present invention, a simple effective rod is provided, lockable in relation to a gun, rendering such gun inoperative and assuring that there is no bullet in the gun aligned with the barrel of the gun. The devices may further be adapted to combine with other known means for the normal maintenance of a gun.

Although such novel feature or features believed to be characteristic of the invention are pointed out in the claims, the invention and the manner in which it may be carried out may be further understood by reference to the description following and the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is one embodiment of the present invention on a revolver.

FIG. 2 is another embodiment of the present invention on a revolver.

FIG. 3 is another embodiment of the present invention on a revolver.

FIG. 4 is another embodiment of the present invention on a rifle.

FIG. 5 is another embodiment of the present invention on an automatic pistol.

FIG. 6 is a front elevation of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a front elevation of FIG. 2.

F IG. 8 is a front elevation of FIG. 3.

FIG. 9 is another embodiment of the invention of FIG. 1.

FIG. 10 is a detail of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a detail of another embodiment of the invention of FIG. 10.

Referring now to the figures in greater detail, where like reference numbers denote like parts in the various figures.

Edit-i829? Patented Feb. 13, 1968 The locking rod 1 as shown in the figures includes a gun barrel rod 2, an integral U shaped portion 3 and a trigger guard extending rod 4.

The locking rod 1 must be of a size proper to fit the specific model of gun it is used so that there can be a certainty that the gun barrel rod 2 is sufiiciently long to fit into the bullet chamber 5 of the particular gun that the locking rod is used With.

The integral U shaped portion 3 of the locking rod 1, While generally being in a U form, may be a generally V shape and is shaped so as to accommodate the needs of the locking rod 1 and the particular gun with which it is used.

In FIGS. 1-4, 69, the locking rod 1 is shown in its various embodiments as used with a revolver 6 and a ride 7.

The embodiments of FIGS. 1, 6, 7 and 9 have an integral finger 8 adapted to pans through the trigger guard 9 of the revolver 6 or rifle 7 in which it is employed. An integral loo 19 extends from the finger 8 and is adapted to receive the shackle 11 of the lock 12.

As illustrated, once the lock 12 has been closed into the loop 10, the guns 6, 7 cannot be fired since the rod 2 could not fit into the barrel 13 of the gun and also through the trigger guard 9 to be locked were there a bullet in the chamber 5.

In the preferred embodiment the lock 12 is a combination padlock having six numbered combination wheels 14 which, if numbered from 140, allow for 1,000,000 optional numbers to select from for the opening combination. The advantage of using a combination lock 12 so that the loss or theft of the key does not automatically give free access to the locked gun to another. Further usual combination padlocks may have their combinations optionally changed so the safety rod 1 user may change the combination when desired. in FIG. 9 an ordinary padlock is employed as may be desired.

In FIGS. 2 and 7 the shackle 16 is an integral part of the trigger guard rod 4. The lock 17 rides on the guard rod 4 with appropriate central indentation so that it may be snapped shut over the shackle 16 and have the normal padlock staple (not shown) engage the locking rod in locked position.

In FIGS. 3 and 8 a two-piece lock 18 with the trigger guard rod 4 integrally connected with one half of the lock 18 and the other half of the lock having teeth 19 adapted to close through the trigger guard 9 holding the locking rod 1 locking in proper position.

The locking rod 1 as shown in FIG. 4 is identical to the locking rod 1 as shown in FIG. 1, only its component parts are size adapted for use with a rifle.

The locking rod 1 as shown in FIG. 5 is illustrated as in use with an automatic pistol 20. The loop 21 on the trigger guard rod 4 is at a straight angle with the guard rod 4 providing a very simple but effective construction of the locking rod 1.

In FIG. 5 optional improved features are shown. The gun barrel rod 22 may have a slot 23 so that the gun barrel rod may receive a cleaning cloth and serve as a cleaning sprag when desired.

As a further protection of the gun barrel 13, the locking rod 1 as shown in FIG. 5 may have a coat of plastic 24. The plastic 24 protects the gun barrel 13 from abrasion by the locking rod 1. Neoprene has been found to be a most eflective plastic in terms of its ease of coating and abrasion protection and resistance.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the gun barrel rod 25 may be threaded and adapted to receive a sprag 26 or a wire brush 27 which may be separately kept for use when desired to use the locking rod 1 as a cleaning tool. Of course the gun barrel rod 25 may be otherwise adapted to receive cleaning tools such as by the provision of a bayonet mounting instead of threads. In use, the locking rod 1 designed for a particular model has its gun barrel rod 2 slid into the barrel of the gun 13. The rod must be stopped by the end of the bullet chamber 5, or the curvature of the U shaped end 3 or both. It is preferable for the gun barrel rod 2 to be stopped by the inability of the gun barrel rod 2 to move further into the bullet chamber 5, but short of the end of the bullet chamber 5 so that there is no possibility of the firing pin of the gun being damaged by the locking rod 1.

In this engaged position the gun barrel rod 2 must be inserted into the bullet chamber 5 to such an extent that it would be impossible for a bullet to occupy the same space.

Since each locking rod 1 is designed for each particular model gun, the trigger guard extending rod must be juxtaposed with the trigger guard 9 of the gun so that the lock may be engaged, holding the locking rod 1 in position at the trigger guard 9 with full assurance that the gun is immobilized until it has been unlocked and the locking rod I removed.

As shown in the figures, the various forms of loops and locks are such that they cannot be engaged as locking means unless the locking rod 1 is inserted into the gun barrel and extends into the chamber to its furthest extent of movement. Thus, when the lock is set, the gun barrel rod 2 is set within the bullet holding area of the gun bullet chamber 5.

The diameter of the gun barrel rod 2 portion must be just equal to or smaller than the bore of the gun barrel 13 so that it may assuredly fit into the gun barrel 13 and yet must be thick enough and made of strong enough ma terial to present a formidable obstacle to remove by means other than opening of the lock.

The plastic coating 24 gives the gun barrel 13 an extra measure of protection against abrasion and allows the locking rod 1 to be made near the diameter of the gun barrel 13, providing an extra measure of strength to the locking rod 1 and prevents potential injury to the gun from jouncing of the locking rod 1 while in locked position.

The terms and expressions which are employed are used as terms of description; it is recognized, though that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.

Having thus described certain forms of the invention in some detail, What is claimed is:

1. A gun safety locking rod comprising a first portion adapted to fit into the barrel of a gun and extend into the bullet chamber of said gun, a second integral portion of said rod, said second portion extending at an angle from said end of said first portion, opposite said end of said first portion extending toward the bullet chamber, a third integral portion of said rod extending from the other end of said second portion, said third portion adapted to extend to a point adjacent to the trigger guard of said gun when said first portion is engaged in both the barrel and bullet chamber of said gun, and locking means on said third portion, said locking means at a point on said third integral portion juxtaposed to said trigger guard when said first portion is inserted within said bullet chamber, said locking means adapted to lock said rod at said trigger guard with said first portion held in said bullet chamber.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said locking means on said rod passes through said trigger guard.

3. The invention of claim 1 wherein a combination shackle lock is adapted to lock the locking means on said rod.

4. The invention of claim 1 wherein the locking means integral to said rod is a loop on a plane with said third portion.

5. The invention of claim 1 wherein the lock adapted to lock said locking means is integral to said third portion and adapted to lock with said locking means.

6. The invention of claim 1 wherein said first portion is adapted to interchangeably receive optional gun cleaning implements beyond its functional length.

7. The invention of claim 1 wherein said third portion includes a two-piece lock adapted to lock through the trigger guard of said gun.

8. The invention of claim 1 wherein said angular extension of said second integral portion is juxtaposed to the end of said gun barrel when said first integral portion 'is inserted to its fullest extent within said barrel, said angular extension acting to stop said first integral portion insertion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,686,482 10/1928 Windle 42-70 2,763,081 9/1956 Huckabee 42l 2,887,807 5/1959 Santangelo 42l 3,137,957 6/ 1964 Ingalls 42l FOREIGN PATENTS 378,767 8/1923 Germany.

BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner. 

